New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-06-13
CHAT WITH SENATOR PLUMB.
THE MARKETS OF THE WESTERN STATES.
r.rv.yoIK FINANCIAL METHODS UNAMERIoAN-
REPUBLICAN PROSPECTS.

;,,,ior Senator from hausho- Alcsooh u.
=. hrstlng man OF affairs. He was printers devil
oS;o where be was born. But having cast his lot in
s thirty-one years ago, he has achieved a noder-
. ornatency, the result OF active business and
s'S;s;ous investments. Mr.. Plumb has some ideas
-, the West, its growth and progress, and ITS
s.lstise importance as afactor In the commercial
efairs of the country WHICH ne eAP'e''oN ." van
TpIBuNE reporter. ,
a., a tbirty.pn years ago in june" said the
sa,or that landed in Leavenworth- Kansas had
ian d. OOC OF 10000 population In thirty years
.me the growth has been great and she now mas not
- than | 800 OOO people within her beiders She
Iii have 100000 by the next census. She was
,,os,espth State IN the Union point OF popuia-
Nv the last census. She will 60 up two pegs at
least in the next ilst m
! arsl me. what has made this growthT
In the fret place. it is due to the general Western
..,ssncv Of the young from the Eastern and Middle
s,ats. They are attracted by the cheaper and more
s,s lands the greater activity IN business and the
80. advantages In social matters. In the East the
founpster who Is just coming to manhood feels I'M
S,snt because he has got to wait till somebody dies
before he gets his proper place In society
=, In bn,iness He wants to 90 there there Is snow
tor himself right away The fact that he Is the son OF
mo man who has social end business position 10 not
satisfactory to him. He wants to be the man OF
.o.;t;on and business himself He discovers that
4h, "a a region with where land Is cheap, fertile,
.n;dlv developing by the building Of railroads and
ar creation Of ne towns which will give him oppor-
s;tv not only for general profits but also for specua-
sv. ones The population OF Kansas has been more
1ry.ly built up from this source than from any other
In addition Kansas has attractions OF her own.
The early struggle to maze her free state, her
central location fine climate, the energy and enter
ss of her people, the excellence OF her INSTITUTIONS
and esnecay of her school system, constitute recon-
,endations which are not Loot upon the enterprisng
and intelligent who are seeking new homes"
how much OF your population IL from foreign
sourcesr
. verv little. Nearly all, might say nine-tenths
If the male population, is composed of men of forty
Eve wears OF aye under who came from the Eastern,
Middl. and Western Stxtes. Ohio, Indiana, Iowa,
illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvan are all
largely represented. / think We have more people
who were born In Illinois than from any other State
Ot late wears there has been considerable immigration
from the Sou hern States OF young people who were
ambitious beyond the surroundings of their homes.
year ago last fall found in q western county OF
Kansas q settlement of forty Kentucky families.
They were by q large majority Democrats rs might
have been expected, and they were also, by some
strange freak, by large majority Prohibitionists
@Ono popularity of Eastern opinion has been that
Kansas and Nebraska and Dakota are remote from
markets. The people here seem to think that these
States are too far from the seaboari TO amount TO
much. They hold q mistaken notion that lands are
only valuable by reason of proximity to the ssaooard
and consequently land that is LOO miles away from
New York must be worth much less In proportion
than land which is only 800 miles away That is an
erroneous idea The building of great commercial
centres like Chicago, ST. Louis Kansas City, Topeka
and Wichita creates values in lands by making local
markets both tor consumption and exchange Kansas
Civ. Leavenworth, Wichita and Atchison, for
instance are great milling markets tor grain. The
mllers of Texas TO Kansas tor large POI ton OF
their wheat and the milleis OF Illinois, Iowa and
Indiana and even OF Ohio come to these cities Tor
their supply. 1t not alone the abundance OF supply
I...s - az. Mt x<hi
to secure the highest quality and greatest variety OF
foul Ii is only 700 miles from Central Kansas to
the Cult OF Me1lco at Galveston. 1t Is much shorter
distance TO open water the year round ON the Mssis
pppl River at Memphis. The consequence is that
Kansas farmers can find outlet for their surplus by
rail shipment OF 250 to 700 miles to water usnspor
tation which will give them to all the markets
OF the civilized world.
Supplementary to that advantage we have
markets west of Kansas, in the mining regions OF
Colorado, New-Mexico and Arizona In addition to
corn, wheat pork, ETC., these mining markets take
large quantities Of minor produce, such as fruit,
ehickens, butter, eggs and vegetables consider
able trade has also been built with Old Mexico II the
Dem ocratic House of Representatives had provided
by appropriations means necessary to carry out the
Mexican Treaty negotiated by General Grant during
the Arthur Administration and ratified by the Senate,
there would be a comparatively free interchange
OF products between Kansas aud Mexico which would
be OF great advantage to both countries Under that
treaty the Kansas farmers who now feed their surplus
corn to the cattle brought from Texas, New-Mexico
and Colorado TO fatten them tor Eastern markets.
would have the added product OF the cattle ranges OF
Old Mexico relyupon, and the Eastern consumer OF
beet would have been that much benefited. Mexico
also takes ncre asng quantities Of -four, pork, corn
etc., and with the diminished duties upon these
products provided by the treaty, the consumption
would be greatly increased to the advantage Of Kan
farmers. What we want with Mexico is tair
reciprocity"
SWhy not annexationw
GWe do not want TO annex Mexico because of the
differences Of and general characteristics OF the
people. The Mexicans would not at present come
up the high standard OF American citizenship is
greatly more to our advantage to have commercial
relations and TO stimulate the free exchange of
products than to bring union with Mexico.
Wiz Canada it is entirely different matter. There
we ought to have reciprocity. We ought by ex-
cuson to demonstrate to Canada, not the benefits OF
RECIPROCITY. but the necessity OF annexation. When
we lock arms with Canada We want her people full
partners We do not want the Mexicans as partners,
but commercial allies We can dominate Mexico
in large measure In q commercial way. This would
not be true Of Canada because of her relations to
Great Britain"
" In talking abont water routes you said nothing
about Chicago"
al am coming to that. In addition to the coast
market. which We have by the way OF the Mississippi
RIVER aud Gulf of Mexico, Chioago furnished us for
most OF the year water transportation to Europe. The
time Ia already ut hand when the West will insist on
the Government building a canal to connect the
waters OF the Mississippi with Lake Michigan-not
necessarily on the line OF the Henhepin Canal as pro-
teeted. but on much better line which will furnish
not only water comm unication but more commo-
dous channel, with less lockage than is proposed in
that scheme.
have endeavored to give you In this outline some
Of the natural trends of trade in the West Kansas
Nebraska, Missouri, the great cora and wheat States
by of their location with reference to water
navigation. either tho Cult OF Mexico. the Misss-
sipp River or the Great Lakes in condition to be,
and in fact are independent Of New-York rs market
either OF purchase Of SALE The facilities Of rail-
road transportation also such that the grain
send to the markets OF the Easter States Is not sent
through New-York, but reaches fits destination
through local distributing points. We find better
foreign outlet at Chicago, while larger and larger
portions will every succeeding year seek Southern
outlet Shortly I export to lines of bsrges
tablished on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers,